An Unseeing Shadow
by Unmasked Potential
Summary: In which an alternate universe takes place after Thor The Dark World and other movies where Loki has acquired a permanent condition that he has to learn to live with. Oh, and how he meets each member of the team again with his new affliction. Peter Parker featured in first chapter. New work in progress.


An Unseeing Shadow

Thor paced nervously up and down the aisle in front of the Avengers Tower kitchen island. The granite countertop was spotless except for the small amount of crumbs that littered the table around the large plate and blue-green mug that sat in front of the elder god's sibling.

Loki sat with his eyes downcast on his plate, looking at the contents without actually seeing them. What laid there, unbeknownst to him, was a square of peanut butter toast and a couple of orange slices. In his mug rested his chocolatey goodness of a hot coco, a winter treat he enjoyed out of comfort even as the summer months sweltered in the heat of New York City.

Thor huffed again, and Loki raised his brows imperceptibly at his brother's antics.

"Remain calm, brother," Loki uttered softly, his voice still charged with emotion after the incident that had taken place only two weeks ago.

"Calm? Calm, Loki? How can I remain calm when there is yet another new member of the Avengers Initiative coming to reside within this tower?" Thor huffed feebly again, tearing a hand through his blonde locks as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "If we thought the first round of Avengers were difficult in welcoming our return to Midgard, how in the world of Anaheim is this new fellow going to react to our situation?"

Loki smirked to himself. " _Our_ situation, is it, brother?"

Thor quickly deflated for a moment, concerned blue eyes raking over his younger brother's form. He watched Loki's shoulders as they rose and fell slightly with each of his breaths. He had forgotten, once again, in his haste just how difficult life had become for his younger brother. Since the battle with Malekith, after Kurse had stabbed Loki and his brother had perished, things had not been the same. Of course, death and near death can change a person, but with Loki's new ailment, it had driven him into himself further. It was easy for Thor to talk to him, but he wasn't always sure that Loki was listening, or that Loki felt gratitude for his life being saved.

Sometimes, Thor even considered that Loki would have wanted to remain dead to the world, rather than having been brought back to life by Eir and her healers.

Thor's eyes narrowed slightly as his mind returned to the present.

"Loki-" Thor began, moving a step forwards towards his brother and his uneaten meal, when the female voice in the ceiling spoke: "Peter Parker has arrived at the Tower. He shall be up shortly."

Thor bit his lip. He was afraid of this moment. It was now or never. Vision had responded in curiosity, Natasha had remained neutral, Tony hadn't exactly been happy about it, Barton was riling in his displeasure and his contempt, Bruce had run tests, and Steve had been taken aback yet kind and compassionate about the situation.

Now it was this Peter Parker's turn to react, and from what Thor had gathered, he was a younger fellow. Thor wasn't sure if this bode well or unwell for the two brothers.

He heard the elevator ping and began to slide open, so Thor turned on his heel to meet the young boy who surprisingly had Tony Stark in tow.

"And this is the living area slash kitchen area. That over there is Thor, Asgardian with a troubled not-brother, and this over here is-" Tony waved his arms in the general degree of each area, but Peter had already dropped his jaw and was staring wide-eyed at the thunder god.

"Whoa-holy-you're, but, and, oh my god!" Peter's hands shot up to his brown curls. "That's Thor! That's-" Peter looked over to Tony who had a slight, amused smile on his face and an expectant look in his eyes. "But you already knew that… Wow, it's uh, great to meet you Mr. Thor!" Peter extended his hand and Thor's head tilted at him slightly before reaching back and grasping it lightly.

"There is someone I'd appreciate you to meet," Thor spoke slowly, eyes roaming over the teenager. He was beginning to feel less and less sure about this decision.

"Oh! Yeah, totally, that's totally okay," Peter responded in enthusiasm, hands still wringing as the thunder god had quite a tight grip.

As Peter began walking forwards, Tony followed a few steps behind.

"I'll just be back here, kid," Tony mentioned, beginning to lean on the doorway of the kitchen.

Thor's frame blocked most of Peter's vision and only when he parted slowly did Peter see before him what he never wanted to see again.

Peter's breath hitched in his throat, and he choked on his spit.

"That's your…" Peter's arm hung in the air as he tried to process what was happening. "That's the guy who attacked New York. You know, I totally had to clean up your mess not that long ago, dude." Peter's voice grew smaller as he continued talking, feeling afraid all of a sudden that he was being introduced to the guy who messed up New York.

"The name's Loki," Loki said softly, still staring down at his untouched plate. "You may want to start with that, next time."

Peter's head turned suddenly, "Whoa, whoa, _next_ time? I don't want there to BE a next time. Do we want there to be a next time?" Peter looked between Thor and Tony at his last question, eyes filled with confusion and a sense of urgency.

Tony sighed, "Look, kiddo, none of us are too happy with this, either. But the guy's…compromised now. So he's not AS much of a threat to you or any of us."

"My brother's condition we've come to fear is permanent. There was no aid to be had on Asgard, after he perished in his aid to fight alongside me to save the universe from Malekith. Allfather sent us to Midgard in hopes that the Avengers could rehabilitate my brother in some manner, or at least for him to come to terms with his new life better than he could on our home planet." Thor explained this while watching Peter closely, the adolescent becoming more confused by the second.

"What do you mean his _condition_?" Peter asked quietly, eyeing the trickster in suspicion.

"He means this," Loki quipped, now fully staring at Peter.

Peter's brows frowned, as he stared back at the demigod.

His eyes…were different. What were once green glowing eyes, were now hazy and white, clouded even at the irises and eerie at the pupils.

"My brother is blind," Thor said in melancholy. The finality of it weighed in the air.

Peter swallowed. "Oh." It was all he could muster. He felt a wave of sympathy for the trickster, which was then clouded over by uncertainty.

"And it's…permanent, you said?" Peter asked hesitantly, watching the trickster as he stared blankly at him.

"Yes," Loki responded. He pushed himself off the stool he had been sitting upon, tapped his fingers on the countertops while mumbling quietly to himself and shoulder bumped into Peter on his way out of the room.

"That went pretty well, I'm surprised," Tony said behind Peter, as Peter's eyes continued to follow the trickster.

"Yes," Thor agreed hesitantly, turning to Peter. "He cannot see you at all, Peter. I would not think too highly of him bumping into you. He may have done it to only assure that your presence was in fact there."

Peter nodded, it sounded reasonable after all. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched and that he'd just met the guy who took down New York so many years ago. Loki seemed so…different in person. Or maybe, he was just different now.

Either way, Peter sighed and decided this was going to make for the weirdest internship of his life.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! So, uh, this happened after I read the fanfic: "Hold On" featuring Peter Parker saving the day in a robbery only to get injured himself, and then..this idea came to my mind. With a twist, of course. I've always wanted to do a blind!Loki fanfic, and my original idea is still cooking after 3 years, I just am stuck on how to start it. (I know what I want to do but writing it is daunting). So I decided I'd play around with the idea here for a bit. If anyone sounds OOC, they probably are, and if you'd like me to fix it, just message me or leave a review with how you think they would act/say and I'll rewrite it! Also, probably going to do a collection of one shots with this fic, but I don't expect it to be long. Okay, that's enough out of me! Thanks for reading! *hugs*  
**


End file.
